Burton J. Merrill 1856–1920

Burton J. Merrill, 1856–1920 (aged 64 years)

Burton J Merrill in his office

Name

Burton J. Merrill

Name: Burton J. /Merrill/
Given names: Burton J.
Surname: Merrill

Gender Male

Events of close relatives
Birth	1856 39 33 Palmyra Warren Co, Iowa, USA
Religious marriage	Cornelia Aldevero — View this family yes
Occupation	Doctor Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Employer: Physician and Surgeon 228 E. Chestnut Address: 215 S. 3rd Street
Death of a maternal grandfather	Erastus Woodward 1870 Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA
Birth of a daughter	Lillian Cornelia Merrill October 4, 1883 Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
Birth of a son	Frederick Baker Merrill May 26, 1886 Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
Death of a father	Philo G. C. Merrill August 27, 1896 Des Moines, Warren Co, Iowa, USA
Marriage of a daughter	Beltram Wilfred Sauntry — Lillian Cornelia Merrill — View this family September 27, 1905 Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
Death of a brother	Giedon W. Merrill February 5, 1915 Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA
Death of a mother	Sophia Woodward March 25, 1915 Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA
Marriage of a son	Frederick Baker Merrill — Florence Katherine Peters — View this family 1917 Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
Burial of a father	Philo G. C. Merrill Woodlands Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Death	1920 (aged 64 years) Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
Burial	Fairview Cemetery, Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Source: Fairview cemetery, Stillwater Minnesota Source: Washington County Historical Society Note: Health is something we are all concerned about, but a doctor with a calm voice and soothing words can make the visits somewhat more bearable. Health is something we are all concerned about, but a doctor with a calm voice and soothing words can make the visits somewhat more bearable. So it was 100 years ago, and one of the old-time doctors then was Dr. Merrill. Dr. Burton Jay Merrill was born in 1856 in Palmyra, Iowa. He graduated from Grinnell College with a B.S. degree in 1875 and an M.A. in 1880. In 1881 at Bellevue Hospital in New York he received his M.D., then moved to Hudson, Wis. where he opened his first office. The following year he moved to Stillwater, partnering with Dr. Millard. He became one of the organizing members of the Washington County Medical Society, with the first meeting held May 31, 1882. He was married to Cornelia A. Merrill in 1882 and the couple had three children — sons Fred and Tyler and one daughter who married Beltram Sauntry. There were no serious epidemics or diseases in Stillwater, partly attributed to Merrill and the activities of the board of health. In 1885, the first of a series of thorough sanitary inspections took place in Stillwater. Merrill wrote that they were house-to-house inspections that took place as “the weather permitted, and continued two months. The citizens in general were helpful, though others were arrested and brought before the municipal court. Thousands of loads of garbage and contents of privy vaults were taken from every part of the city to the dumping grounds. The city never underwent such a general cleaning before. The death rate has come down in a remarkable manner and the health of our community is second to no other city or section in the entire country.” In July 1893 a severe tornado hit Stillwater and the entire area around it. Merrill got a firsthand look at the cyclone as he was coming back from the Lakeland area. He jumped from his carriage and took “seclusion under a friendly rock by the roadside” before seeing the storm disappear over the Wisconsin bluffs. Merrill was professor of therapeutics and materia medica (now termed pharmacology) at St. Paul Medical College for two years. He served as Washington County physician and coroner and was also Stillwater’s health commissioner. For a number of years he was also physician and surgeon for the Minnesota State Prison. It was Merrill who helped the dying Bob Younger at the prison as Younger succumbed to consumption (tuberculosis) in 1889. During his lifetime Merrill was affiliated with a number of medical societies and was member of a number of local organizations including the B.P.O. Elks, Sons of the American Revolution and the Knights of Pythias. Owing to a general breakdown of his health, Merrill gave up his medical practice in 1920. He left Stillwater for a summer camp near Grantsburg, Wis. around June 20, 1920, hoping to recover his health among the pines of that area. He returned to Stillwater July 15, chatting in a cheerful manner with those with him and upon arrival was greatly pleased to be with loved ones once again. During the night he was “attacked with a sinking spell” and just before 7:30 a.m. July 16, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Merrill was called Stillwater’s “famous family physician” and a “distinguished gentleman, and a friend to everyone he knew.

Date differences

Family with parents
father	Links Birth: April 16, 1816 42 — Stowe, Lamoille Co, Vermont, USA Marriage: 1845 Death: August 27, 1896 — Des Moines, Warren Co, Iowa, USA Burial: Woodlands Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Sophia Woodward John H Merrill Giedon W. Merrill Tyler Merrill Norman Merrill Burton J. Merrill Philo G. C. Merrill 1816–1896 Birth: April 16, 1816 42 — Stowe, Lamoille Co, Vermont, USA Death: August 27, 1896 — Des Moines, Warren Co, Iowa, USA
mother	Links Birth: October 22, 1822 31 27 — Vermont, USA Marriage: 1845 Death: March 25, 1915 — Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Philo G. C. Merrill John H Merrill Giedon W. Merrill Tyler Merrill Norman Merrill Burton J. Merrill Sophia Woodward 1822–1915 Birth: October 22, 1822 31 27 — Vermont, USA Death: March 25, 1915 — Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA
Marriage	Marriage — 1845 —
18 months elder brother	Links Birth: June 1846 30 23 — New Hampshire, USA Civil marriage: September 19, 1871 — Polk Co, Iowa, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Helen E Lewis Annette R Merrill Walter A Merrill Harry B Merrill John H Merrill 1846– Birth: June 1846 30 23 — New Hampshire, USA
19 months elder brother	Links Birth: about 1847 30 24 — New Hampshire, USA Civil marriage: May 6, 1897 — Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA Death: February 5, 1915 — Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Mary E Jackson Giedon W. Merrill 1847–1915 Birth: about 1847 30 24 — New Hampshire, USA Death: February 5, 1915 — Grinnell, Poweshiek Co, Iowa, USA
brother	Links Birth: Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Tyler Merrill – Birth:
brother	Links Birth: Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Norman Merrill – Birth:
himself	Links Birth: 1856 39 33 — Palmyra Warren Co, Iowa, USA Religious marriage: Occupation: Doctor — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Death: 1920 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Burial: Fairview Cemetery, Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Cornelia Aldevero Frederick Baker Merrill Tyler Woodword Merrill Lillian Cornelia Merrill Burton J. Merrill 1856–1920 Birth: 1856 39 33 — Palmyra Warren Co, Iowa, USA Death: 1920 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA

Family with Cornelia Aldevero
himself	Links Birth: 1856 39 33 — Palmyra Warren Co, Iowa, USA Religious marriage: Occupation: Doctor — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Death: 1920 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Burial: Fairview Cemetery, Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Cornelia Aldevero Frederick Baker Merrill Tyler Woodword Merrill Lillian Cornelia Merrill Burton J. Merrill 1856–1920 Birth: 1856 39 33 — Palmyra Warren Co, Iowa, USA Death: 1920 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
wife	Links Birth: 1856 — New York, USA Religious marriage: Death: 1929 Burial: Fairview Cemetery, Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Burton J. Merrill Frederick Baker Merrill Tyler Woodword Merrill Lillian Cornelia Merrill Cornelia Aldevero 1856–1929 Birth: 1856 — New York, USA Death: 1929
Religious marriage	Religious marriage — —
son	Links Birth: May 26, 1886 30 30 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Census: 1900 Marriage: 1917 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Census: 1930 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Occupation: Agent for the Importers and Exporters Insurance Co New York — 1932 Mayor: Politics — between 1934 and 1938 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Death: March 6, 1946 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Burial: Fairview Cemetery, Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Florence Katherine Peters Sally Cornelia Merrill Frederick Baker Merrill 1886–1946 Birth: May 26, 1886 30 30 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Death: March 6, 1946 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA
son	Links Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Tyler Woodword Merrill –
daughter	Links Birth: October 4, 1883 27 27 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Religious marriage: September 27, 1905 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Death: October 15, 1972 — Minneapolis, Hennepin Co, Minnesota, USA Burial: Lakewood Cemetery Links Ancestors Compact tree Descendants Family book Fan chart Hourglass chart Interactive tree Pedigree Relationships Family with spouse Beltram Wilfred Sauntry Lillian Cornelia Merrill 1883–1972 Birth: October 4, 1883 27 27 — Stillwater, Washington Co, Minnesota, USA Death: October 15, 1972 — Minneapolis, Hennepin Co, Minnesota, USA

Show all sources
Burial	Source: Fairview cemetery, Stillwater Minnesota Source: Washington County Historical Society

Show all notes
Burial	Health is something we are all concerned about, but a doctor with a calm voice and soothing words can make the visits somewhat more bearable. So it was 100 years ago, and one of the old-time doctors then was Dr. Merrill. Dr. Burton Jay Merrill was born in 1856 in Palmyra, Iowa. He graduated from Grinnell College with a B.S. degree in 1875 and an M.A. in 1880. In 1881 at Bellevue Hospital in New York he received his M.D., then moved to Hudson, Wis. where he opened his first office. The following year he moved to Stillwater, partnering with Dr. Millard. He became one of the organizing members of the Washington County Medical Society, with the first meeting held May 31, 1882. He was married to Cornelia A. Merrill in 1882 and the couple had three children — sons Fred and Tyler and one daughter who married Beltram Sauntry. There were no serious epidemics or diseases in Stillwater, partly attributed to Merrill and the activities of the board of health. In 1885, the first of a series of thorough sanitary inspections took place in Stillwater. Merrill wrote that they were house-to-house inspections that took place as “the weather permitted, and continued two months. The citizens in general were helpful, though others were arrested and brought before the municipal court. Thousands of loads of garbage and contents of privy vaults were taken from every part of the city to the dumping grounds. The city never underwent such a general cleaning before. The death rate has come down in a remarkable manner and the health of our community is second to no other city or section in the entire country.” In July 1893 a severe tornado hit Stillwater and the entire area around it. Merrill got a firsthand look at the cyclone as he was coming back from the Lakeland area. He jumped from his carriage and took “seclusion under a friendly rock by the roadside” before seeing the storm disappear over the Wisconsin bluffs. Merrill was professor of therapeutics and materia medica (now termed pharmacology) at St. Paul Medical College for two years. He served as Washington County physician and coroner and was also Stillwater’s health commissioner. For a number of years he was also physician and surgeon for the Minnesota State Prison. It was Merrill who helped the dying Bob Younger at the prison as Younger succumbed to consumption (tuberculosis) in 1889. During his lifetime Merrill was affiliated with a number of medical societies and was member of a number of local organizations including the B.P.O. Elks, Sons of the American Revolution and the Knights of Pythias. Owing to a general breakdown of his health, Merrill gave up his medical practice in 1920. He left Stillwater for a summer camp near Grantsburg, Wis. around June 20, 1920, hoping to recover his health among the pines of that area. He returned to Stillwater July 15, chatting in a cheerful manner with those with him and upon arrival was greatly pleased to be with loved ones once again. During the night he was “attacked with a sinking spell” and just before 7:30 a.m. July 16, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Merrill was called Stillwater’s “famous family physician” and a “distinguished gentleman, and a friend to everyone he knew.
Note	Burton's father and mother were Philo G. G. Merrill from Vermont and Sophia W. Merril from New Hampshire. At the time of the 1880 census, Burton was a Medical Student.

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Media object	Burton J Merrill in his office

Extra information

Last change

July 13, 2022 – 20:38:38

Author of last change: makitso

Family navigator

Family with parents
father Parents Abel Merrill Sarah Henry	Philo G. C. Merrill 1816–1896
mother Parents Erastus Woodward Sarah Gilson	Sophia Woodward 1822–1915
elder brother Family Helen E Lewis Annette R Merrill Walter A Merrill Harry B Merrill	John H Merrill 1846–
elder brother Family Mary E Jackson	Giedon W. Merrill 1847–1915
brother	Tyler Merrill –
brother	Norman Merrill –
himself	Burton J. Merrill 1856–1920

Family with Cornelia Aldevero
himself	Burton J. Merrill 1856–1920
wife	Cornelia Aldevero 1856–1929
son Family Florence Katherine Peters Sally Cornelia Merrill	Frederick Baker Merrill 1886–1946
son	Tyler Woodword Merrill –
daughter Family Beltram Wilfred Sauntry	Lillian Cornelia Merrill 1883–1972

Descendants

Burton J. Merrill(1856–1920)
- Cornelia Aldevero